Auxiliary connection for car-couplings.



0. H. MBLAUGHLIN. AUXILIARY CONNECTION FOR OAR COUPLINGS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28, 1907.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

CMS (lug/0kg.

CHARLES H. MQLAUGHLIN, F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUXILIARY CONNECTION FOR CAR-COUPLINGS.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911..

Application filed September 28, 1907. Serial No. 395,043.

To all whom it mo concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. Mo- LA-UGHLIN, a citizen of the United States, residing ,in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

- have invented certain Improvements in Auxiliary Connections for CarCouplings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to auxiliary con-; motions for car couplings of the character n disclosed in my former. Patent, No. 742,720,. dated October 27, 1903, and the patent of W. N. Shephard, No, 746,588, dated December 8, 1903; the object of my present invention being-to. provide an auxiliary 5 connection of this type available for use with the vertical plane couplings. of adjacent cars, that may be offset laterally or vertically with respect to each other so as to preclude any possibility of efl'ecting a 2n connection with the use of an ordinary are offset laterally with respect to each other; Fig. 2,,is a plan view illustrating my im roved auxiliary connection in place coupler to an ordinary form of coupler head, indicated by dotted lines at the left 3501 the View; the movable portion of such .connectionbeing shown coupled to an ordi, nary coupling head, also shown in dotted lines, and'such movable member being also shownv by dotted lines in other positions 40 that it may. assume; and Fig. 3 is anelegation, partly in section, on the line aa,

I n the use of auxiliary connections for car eonplin s it frei}i ently happens that '48 the cars to e couple are lying on tracks of such radius as to throw the coupling heads carriedby the same so far out of line. as to prevent practical connection therewith and 'when connections of the type shown inthe Shephard structure are emplo ed, which are of such a character as to e capable ofietfecting such couphng, there is the danger of bending the bar when the pushing or pulling strain is applied in moving the cars.

The object ofmy invention is to employ a structure such as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, wherein a head such as 1 ma be attached directly to a coupling ofthe aster Car Builders or Janney' typeand held thereto in substantially rigid relationship. Carried by the head 1 is a movable head'2 designed for engagement with the coupling of the other car, and such engagement may he accomplishal automatically.

The front or builin portion of the head 1 is elongated laterally as indicated at 3, and the top and bottomwebs'ot such-elongated portion are provided withribs 4' forming grooves 5 adaptedto receive the '70 rear end of the coupling 2, wh'ich-is'shaped to form a pivot pinLT. By this means the head 2is slidably movablethe our length of the coupling 1, and is prevented from dislodgment by a webS atone end" and a 75 pin 9 at the opposite end. The block or connecting head 1- is sup ortedi on the coupling by a hood l0, simi or to thestruc' ture of the Shepherd. patent before res ferred to, such hood imparting additional 30 strength to the structure; To su port the head 2 vertically, thelower web 0 the head 1 is extended inform a lon itudinal shelf 11, and thehead 2 is provic edwitha rib 12, extending from its lower web, which 5 rests on said shell. 'lhisribhas a'rounded face 13 disposed a slight distance from the longitudinal rib 4 of thellower Web of the head 1 so as to be capable of partialrotative movement with respect to said head 1 as indicated by dottedlmes. The knuckle portion of the head 2 is substantially the same shape as, but slightly smaller than, the knuckle portion of the normal Master Car Builders or Ja'nn'ey contour-,asindi-en cated, so as to readily engage couplers, I having such contour, at various angles. This structure, it willbe noted is desi bed for makinguconnections with coup ings which are offset laterally with respect to 1001 each other and by having the parts movable with respect to each other the car couplings may readily change their relative lateral position without damage or danger of disengagement.As it is sulbstantially a unitary structure and under the most favorable conditions of more or less great weight,

I propose to lighten such weight as much as possible by making the parts 1 and 2 with single top and bottom webs, connected to a standard coupling, one of said head'sbeing laterally elongated and hollow with two straight ribs together forn'iingagroove, the second head being substantially flat and having a pivot pin extending substantially at right angles to its plane within said groove of the first head so as to be both pivotally movable and bodily slidable therein.

2. The combination, in an auxiliary coupling, of two heads niovably connected together and each formed for cooperation with a standard coupling, one of the heads being hollow and laterally elongated with ribs in said hollow portion forming a groove, the second head having a pivot pin operative within said groove so as to permitoit its turning and also of its bodily movement, with a web at one end of the groove and a removable member at the other end thereon for limiting the bodily movement of the second head.

3. The combination, in an auxiliary coupling, of two heads each formed for co.-

operation with standard couplings, one of said heads having a hollow, laterally elon gated portion open on the front of the head and formed with ribs placed to serve as a straigl'it guideway t'ansverse to the general line of the heads, the second head CHARLES H. McLAUGHLlN.

Witnesses:

MURRAY C. BUYER, WM. A. BARR. 

